The EPPO said in an online statement this week that it has launched an investigation into a suspected fraudulent scheme involving €340,000 in EU funds intended for small-scale solar projects in Slovenia.
Two undisclosed companies are suspected of submitting fraudulent applications for co-financing under a public call from the Slovenian Ministry for Infrastructure, which is funded by the European Commission's Cohesion Fund.
The companies allegedly misrepresented a single solar plant as two separate projects to bypass requirements for a building permit. The project was intended for installation on agricultural land, where solar installations are prohibited, and in a protected heritage area, lacking the necessary cultural conservation consent.
Investigators said they also suspect the use of forged documents to support the claims. The police in Celje, Slovenia, carried out searches on Jan. 7 and Jan. 8.
Although the European Union approved €340,000 in funding, no payments were made as the fraudulent plan was uncovered prior to disbursement. The investigation is still ongoing, and all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court, according to the EPPO statement.
The EPPO, the European Union’s independent public prosecutor, investigates and prosecutes crimes that harm the bloc’s financial interests.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.